New Guy From New Orleans Area!

[pooldv]

No, test strips are not reliable.

There is a separate borate test, but if you have not ever put borates in the pool you can ignore that and set now and target to 0.

You need to add 80oz of cya (stabilizer), I use Kemtek from Lowes.
PH is ok, no adjustment needed, needs to be above 7.2
I would not worry about CH right now or drain the pool, that level can be managed.
The bleach I use is 8.25% from the grocery store, lowes sells 10% chlorine. You can change the percentage.
Increasing TA with baking soda is fine.

 

[n240sxguy]

^^^^^
What he said. Exactly.
I've only used the CYA from walmart. Around $13-14 for 3lb I think. All the same.

As for the test strips, I'll give you a chemical plant analogy since we have that in common. Everyone else will just skip past this part, but depending on the process you are involved with at work, it may strike a chord. I have one process at work that has a hot quench. I have analyzers that measure ph and %hcl. To cross check them I can use ph test strips or I can titrate for %hcl. The strips give me a rough guess, the titration tells me exactly what's there. It's the same with pool testing. Strips will give you a guess, drop based tests give you exact.


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[Z7What]

Understand completely. Will resample tomorrow and make a decision on what I will add tomorrow.

Wayne

 

[kimkats]

I would be careful getting bleach from Lowes or such due to low turn over. Make sure to find the date stamp before you buy it. It does degrade due to heat and time.

Wayne you are doing a great job! Keep asking questions! It will become second nature after a while and YOU will be answering OTHERS questions!

Kim

 

[Patrick_B]

I second that. We already had someone buy weak bleach/Liquid Chlorine at a Box store this year. This will vary widely, but as a rule, I would stay away from it.

- - - Updated - - -

^^^^^
What he said. Exactly.
I've only used the CYA from walmart. Around $13-14 for 3lb I think. All the same.

As for the test strips, I'll give you a chemical plant analogy since we have that in common. Everyone else will just skip past this part, but depending on the process you are involved with at work, it may strike a chord. I have one process at work that has a hot quench. I have analyzers that measure ph and %hcl. To cross check them I can use ph test strips or I can titrate for %hcl. The strips give me a rough guess, the titration tells me exactly what's there. It's the same with pool testing. Strips will give you a guess, drop based tests give you exact.

Indeed! there is nothing like doing it the right way, and that is exactly how we get the numbers we want for most of our suggested testing. Titration...

 

[Z7What]

Well today it has been storming since about 6am so I wasn't able to do anything with it today. I did backwash and rinse the filter to lower the level but that's it.

Hoping tomorrow is better.

Wayne

 

[n240sxguy]

If you haven't added any chlorine, you need to do that ASAP. Every minute without it is 1 minute closer to algae taking off.


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[Z7What]

How many gallons of bleach should I add for the time being? I wouldn't be able to add it til tomorrow afternoon because I'm working nights. Or could I just have the wife go throw some granules I had been using in it, she could do that now.

This is the weather for the next few days so trying to get it under control right now may be rough would like to just add something to keep it clean/clear.

Wayne

 

[n240sxguy]

She could use some granules as long as you know which kind they are, and you realize what else they will add to the pool. Check pool math and see what they'll add. You need some CYA, so it shouldn't be a problem to use them for chlorine and CYA. The problem comes with continued use when your CYA goes off the charts.


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[Z7What]

Added 2 lbs of the granule Chlorine I had about 2hrs ago.

Just tested again just now.

FC= 3
CC= <.5
TC= Slightly less than 3.5
CH= 250
TA= 40
CYA= 0

It rained for a solid 12hrs yesterday. It drizzled again this morning and just after testing it rain let again.

Wayne

 

[Patrick_B]

FC looks good!

Once the weather settles you can look at the CYA and TA.

You'll be losing the FC with no Cya, so you want to do that pretty pronto.

 

[Z7What]

So you want to do that pretty pronto.

And by this statement you mean add CYA?

One thing I'm having a hard time understanding. The granules I have if I understand correctly add CYA and increases CH. The thing I don't get is that if my CYA is 0 and CH is within spec why can't I use it.

It was said a few times that I could use it if I understand what else it changes. Well I think I do know what it does but not how much. That's the reason I'm asking, because I don't full understand.

Wayne

 

[jblizzle]

Granule chlorine adds CYA OR CH, not both.
If it is dichlor or trichlor, then it will add CYA and that is fine, BUT until the CYA builds up some all the FC will be lost to the sun quickly. Thus, sometime better to get the CYA to around 30ppm quickly and then use the dichlor/trichlor to slowly add more CYA if you need it.

 

[Casey]

I don't plan to do a single thing to the pool until I get the test kit in and water sampled.

I believe this is the MSDS to the stuff I have.

http://www.copooldoctor.com/images/stories/pdf/Refresh%20Dry%20Chlorinating%20Shock.PDF

This is what the bucket looks like, except its a 100lb bucket.

Wayne

This does not have CYA in it. If you are at 200ppm of CH, you should not be using this.

 

[Z7What]

This does not have CYA in it. If you are at 200ppm of CH, you should not be using this.

If my testing was correct I am at 250ppm of CH. It's my understanding that CH should be between 0-350. So if I'm within the limits why is adding the Cal-Hypo bad? Is the only way to remove CH is to drain?

I'm not sure what exactly dichlor or trichlor is. I know it's a form Chlorine but not sure if anything else like if it's a ingredient in another product or a stand alone product.

I'm sorry if my questions and replys/questions to answered given to me sound as if I'm just trying to use what I have. I don't mean it that way. I have no problem at all using any product that's recommended to me by yall. I just trying to get a better understanding of what is all is and why I can/can't use something and when I should/shouldn't use something.

I have learned a great deal over the last few days. It's a lot to absorb and I just want to make sure I fully understand it all.

Wayne

 

[jblizzle]

CH tends to climb as you add top off water due to evaporation. And the only way to lower the CH is by replacing water. In your climate, you may get enough rain to counter the CH rise and then using the Cal-hypo might be fine. You can use it, just watch that the CH does not climb too high which could lead to calcium scaling.

 

[Z7What]

Gotcha! Thanks!

Does CYA you buy at the store degrade over time?

Wayne

 

[jblizzle]

Not if it stays dry in the package.

 

[Casey]

It's ok, you're not a bother. You don't want the CH high because it could scale the liner. If your pH goes up, it could cloud your pool.

I buy the CYA called stabilizer/conditioner made by HTH from Wal-Mart. I add it n I'm done. I then just add liquid bleach when needed.

 

[Z7What]

Perfect! I'll pick some up tomorrow! Thanks guys!

Another question, being as my pool has no CYA with a FC of 3. Would that mean I will probably need to add more chlorine tomorrow? Do I use the drop test each day until I get my CYA to where it needs to be or will the blue box with the yellow and red columns be good to use? Weather calls for more rain tomorrow!

Havnt had this much rain in months and of course the time I want to get my pool straight it rains cats and dogs.

Wayne